John G. Spooner, a senior writer for eWeek, chronicles the PC industry, in addition to covering semiconductors and, on occasion, automotive technology. Prior to joining eWeek in 2005, Mr. Spooner spent more than four years as a staff writer for CNET News.com, where he covered computer hardware. He has also worked as a staff writer for ZDNET News.
Intel Corp. plans to begin cutting the power consumption of its chips right at the factory. The chip giant will on Tuesday unveil a plan to create an alternate version of its manufacturing process technology—the means by which it knits together the transistors that make up the circuits inside its chips—designed to yield more power-efficient […]
Laptops are acquiring long distance communications skills. PC makers Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Lenovo Group Ltd. are moving to offer their corporate notebooks with wireless broadband. The companies have partnered separately with Verizon Wireless and on Monday announced plans to bundle the hardware necessary to offer the wireless providers Evolution-Data Optimized or EV-DO network […]
Dell wants to ride the wave of color—both in photos and corporate documents such as brochures—to greater market share in printers. The Round Rock, Texas, company, which has been making a run at the printer market since 2003, will emphasize the photo-handling capabilities of its all-in-one inkjet photo printer line for consumers, this holiday season. […]
Sun is adding more spark to its Sun Fire servers. Beginning next week, the San Jose, Calif.-based hardware maker will add its UltraSPARC VI+ processor to its line of mid-range and high-end Sun Fire machines, sources familiar with its plans said. The chip, which offers improvements over Sun Microsystems Inc.s current UltraSPARC IV chip, including […]
Dell is doing its own little ditty. This holiday coming season, Dell Inc. plans to offer three new Dell DJ portable music players, starting with a tiny, flash memory-based model called the Dell DJ Ditty, sources familiar with the companys plans said. The Round Rock, Texas, company is likely extending its Dell DJ line in […]
The rise of the Media Center PC may finally be at hand. The music and video-oriented PCs, which are based on Microsoft Corp.s Windows XP Media Center Edition, are showing signs of life, thanks to efforts by Microsoft and PC makers such as Dell Inc.—which will roll out several new Media Center models later this […]
Lenovo plans to equip its notebooks with a roll cage, in a small step toward its larger goal of becoming a bigger player in the world PC market. The PC maker, whose executives on Tuesday briefed reporters on its progress since acquiring IBMs PC group in May, has designed a magnesium alloy skeleton to stiffen […]
Intel Corp. is moving on multiple fronts to help keep businesses one step ahead of worms and viruses. The chipmakers research arm has stepped up its security focus of late. Earlier this week, Intel researchers released to open source an early version of software called Autograph that helps to quickly identify Internet worms and curb […]
Intels chip-set factories are running flat out, the company said. The chip giant, which earlier this year said it was reprioritizing its chip-set manufacturing in an effort to keep up with demand, doesnt expect to catch a breather until early 2006, said Andy Bryant, Intel Corp.s CFO, on Thursday. Chip sets provide the equivalent of […]
Gateway is going back to school, this month, with a new tablet PC. The company on Wednesday introduced a new convertible tablet PC that promises higher performance and better ergonomics for a lower price than its predecessor. Those improvements, the Irvine Calif., PC maker believes, will help Gateway Inc. tablets continue their momentum in education […]